


Coffee Fix

by CommanderBunnyChan



Category: B.A.P
Genre: AU, Angst, Coffee Shop, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 22:07:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2523476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderBunnyChan/pseuds/CommanderBunnyChan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Himchan is an overworked, overtired, and overly grumpy businessman with an addiction for a specific coffee shops coffee. But is it really the coffee he is addicted to? Or the barista that serves it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee Fix

Himchan went there for the coffee. Honestly. That is why he walked twenty minutes there and back in his lunch break, and went out of his way each morning and evening before and after work. It was because of the coffee, not because of the barista behind the counter. And because he went there for the coffee, and not the boy who made it, Himchan did not feel slightly down on his visits when the barista was not there. No, the only reason he was more grumpy than usual on those days was because the other workers could never make his drink to the same standard, the same –and only reason he’d insist- he’d never go into any other coffee shop.

It was a cold and grey Monday morning, the type that liked to make Himchans muscles ache and leave him feeling a lot older than his actual twenty six years. It was the sort that almost convinced him to skip his usual detour and head straight to work. Almost. He pushed the coffee shop door open and was greeted by a wave of warmth, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the calm, quiet sound of jazz playing through the speakers. The shop itself was almost devoid of customers, bar one sat in a corner, headphones in their ears and laptop on the table in front of them. Behind the counter were two baristas: one carefully pouring a drink into a takeaway cup, and the other stood bored behind the till.

At the sound of his entrance, the door shutting behind him softly, the two workers looked up. A large smile grew on the face of the boy making a drink. Stood behind the till the girl simply rolled her eyes and moved to collect the now empty plate from the customer in the corner.

“Morning,” the boy greeted as he placed a lid on the cup. “The usual to go?”  
The corner of Himchan’s mouth quirked up. The boy knew the answer, otherwise he wouldn’t have his usual ready to go in front of him. When he first started visiting the shop, he could not help but play with the boy who memorised and predicted his coffee habits almost straight away, deciding to answer no or to change what his usual was. He stopped not long after, simply because really, he didn’t actually want the other drinks he ordered, and it was a lot easier to have his actual usual ready and waiting for him when he got there. Not because he felt bad when it became clear his light teasing was a lot more than light teasing to the boy, and certainly not because he liked the way the boys smile grew even larger and brighter when he said yes.

“Course,” he muttered, pulling his wallet out of his coat pocket. Handing the cash over, he stifled a yawn, turning away slightly from the boy. 

“Rough night?” he asked, handing him the coffee.

With a grimace Himchan nodded. 

“Long night, and not enough coffee.” Taking a sip of the drink, he visibly relaxes, shoulders becoming ever so slightly becoming less tense, and the creases on his forehead smoothing out.

“You sure the answer is more coffee, not less coffee and more sleep?” He leant on the counter, a smile still on his face but his voice holding an undertone of worry. At his words Himchans heart beat slightly faster. How long had it been since someone last worried about him?

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” he replied, deciding it had been far too long since he last teased the barista. “Hm, my constant custom must be getting annoying for you. Perhaps I should stop coming here.”

With these words the boys eyes widened, head quickly shaking from side to side.

“No, no that’s not what I meant,” his words tumbled out after each other so quickly they almost blended into one. At his flustered state Himchans lips stretched into a smile, and a laugh fell out before he could stop it.

“I’m teasing, don’t worry, I couldn’t stop coming here even if I wanted to.” His stomach gave a lurch and his heart a flutter at the lit up face of the barista. At the happy and hopeful look on his face, and the knowing look on the girls, he could not help but let out the next few words. “I mean, the coffee. Nowhere else can beat the coffee here.”

The crestfallen look on his face was like a dagger in Himchans heart. 

“The coffee?” his voice was weak with a slight croak at the end. 

Blood running cold, he regretted the words that slipped past his lips, but lost all power to stop them. 

“Course the coffee.” He tried to not notice how the baristas body stiffened, how there was no trace of his usual dumb smile. Instead, a plastic, fake, and wobbling smile replaced it.

“I see. You should probably go, or you’ll be late for work.” There was no strength behind the words, but a bitter malice certainly was. Before Himchan could open his mouth, the boy had turned away and walked quickly through the door into the kitchen. He stood there frozen to the spot, hand reaching out and mouth open to call his name, to apologise, explain….confess. But no words came. His name did not come.

“Do you even know his name?” the girl worker bit out, glaring at him from the kitchen door. At his silence she scoffed. “It’s Jongup, and I think you should do as he said and leave. It would be appreciated if you didn’t come back either.” Venom laced each word, and her point was punctuated by the slamming of the kitchen door behind her.

Lifeless, Himchan left the coffee shop, numb to the cold air that bit his skin. 

\--

Lunch break came and went. At his desk he downed cheap, instant coffee, and kept his eyes focussed on the computer screen and the paper files that littered his worktop, refusing to think of anything else. Clocking out time rolled by, and he stayed unmoving in his chair. The last worker left, but he didn’t move. Leaning back on his chair, he closed his strained eyes. The barista, Jongup, appeared in front of him, wearing that same crestfallen, defeated look he saw only hours earlier. The expression he caused. Snapping his eyes open Himchan stood up. Turning his computer off, he grabbed his coat and marched out of the office with determination.

Weak determination. Standing outside the coffee shop he watched as Jongup stacked the chairs inside, unable to enter. By the time the barista had finished and left, he was already long gone. 

\--

The next morning Himchan skipped his usual detour.

Three hours after clocking out time, closing time for the coffee shop, he left his office and headed home. 

\--

Two weeks passed. His feet no longer tried to take him past the coffee shop to and from work in his half asleep state. His body no longer itched to go there during his lunch breaks. That face still appears in his mind every time he closes his eyes, but he solves that with more instant coffee. 

\--

Two months have gone and he returns with two work colleagues insisting he needs a break. They buy him his coffee, “their treat.” He sees Jongup behind the counter, all smiles. Real smiles. Not that fake, wobbling one he left him with. His eyes full of life. Himchan frowned, or would have, if one wasn’t always etched on his face. Standing up, he left before his colleagues returned to the table, missing how Jongup’s eyes grew wide at the sight of him. 

What had he been thinking liking a boy so young? So full of life, how could he have kept up? He was an old man, nearer thirty than he was twenty. Walking back to the office he shook his head. He didn’t have the time for a relationship. He didn’t have the time for idle fancy. 

Sitting at his desk with a mug of instant coffee, he stared into the black liquid before downing it.


End file.
